Request a Catalog

Everything we offer is available on the website. We do not offer a paper catalog. We do understand this is a change in the old way seed companies have operated in the past.

One of the biggest reasons we don't produce a paper catalog is current seed availability. A live/real-time website allows us to keep availability on our rare seed current. No substitutions, no refund check in your order instead of the seed you wanted. You actually get what you order. Plus, we don't have to hire a person to issue daily refunds. This savings allows us to better serve you in other ways.

The website also allows us to build a huge database of information for our customers with many photos. No other seed company for instance offers historical references and documents on the origins of heirloom seeds. We could not do this in a paper catalog.

More importantlytly, we are committed to being a sustainable green company. This means reducing our carbon footprint. Yearly many seed companies kill as many as 2,200 trees or more to print their paper catalog. We are committed to greening the planet. These choices saves thousands of trees and the precious ecosystems they support.

We are aware that a few people still have slow internet connections. We have tried to design the site to load quickly. If you have a slow connection at home, remember there are community computers at local libraries and most internet cafes.

We are on the cutting edge of a society that is only now learning to change how it uses its limited resources. Sustainability is more than a name to us. At Sustainable Seed Co. we are proud to be a leader in this new movement.

It is our hope that this doesn't greatly inconvenience you and that you will still choose to do business with us.

The Facts About Catalogs

Catalog retailers send out 20 billion catalogs a year, and almost none of the paper contains any recycled content. Instead, over 8 million tons of trees a year go into catalogs alone—which means 8 million tons of trees are going from forests to the landfill, with a short appearance as junk mail in between. What does that mean?

1 ton of virgin printing paper for catalogs uses 24 trees. Now take the number above of 8 million tons used a year and you get 192,000,000 trees that are killed every year so you can thumb through a catalog!! That is roughly 640,000 acres of trees and forest ecosystems destroyed for JUST catalogs. How in good conscious could you or anyone participate in this behavior?

To put that into perspective, that is almost the entire state of Rhode Island being cut down every year for catalogs. These are not just trees, but entire ecosystems of living beings that are destroyed for catalogs. Our mission is to green the planet, not de-green it. We will not be a part of this irresponsible behavior. Yes, we might lose some customers to this policy, but someone has to take the first step in making a change. We are NOT driven by the dollar but by our consciousness and the knowledge that human beings can do better in the world.

Our company vows to leave the smallest footprint possible on this planet as possible. In fact we hope to green more than we take. We are after all a seed company!

In fact most of the book publishers we buy from are a part of the Green Press Initiative. The goal of the Green Press Initiative is to help those in the book and newspaper industries better understand their impacts on endangered forests, indigenous communities, and the Earth's climate. GPI also works with those in the industry to implement solutions, and to provide the tools and resources necessary to support industry transformation.

Comments on Request a Catalog

08-12-2014 11:53 AM
Please allow downloadable version for those of us with limited internet access. Because of my remote location I cannot get internet without exorbitant cost. Time is limited when I can access. Would love to shop and be ready to order when I return to town for another internet session.

Michael C

06-30-2014 01:45 PM
While I was shocked at the amount of deforestation that takes place each year, and I completely support your stance regarding destroying ecosystems, perhaps you could make a catalog out of hemp paper or 100% post-consumer recycled paper?

Celeste in Annapolis

03-26-2014 07:54 AM
First, I appreciate the reasons you have only online, and as someone who hates replacements and refunds, I am all for it. Nevertheless, I find I can only effectively read/review/edit/proofread/compare a hard copy of text. This is the case for most people who did not grow up with computers, and also applies to many people who did. Thus PLEASE make available an online version of a catalog in a format that customers can print in whole or in part on their dime. You can inserta proviso that only what is shown online is available at any given time. Heck, I'll help you write the disclaimers.

Jim Roberts

03-23-2014 08:51 PM
For those of us who can view the catalog online but do not want to order online, could you make a printable order form available so that your products could be ordered by U.S. mail with an accompanying check?